Chef shares weight-loss secrets, details

Updated 8:35 am, Tuesday, July 2, 2013

Johnny Rodriguez, a chef who attended the CIA, now works for John Besh at the American Sector.

Johnny Rodriguez, a chef who attended the CIA, now works for John Besh at the American Sector.

Photo: Helen L. Montoya, San Antonio Express-News

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Johnny Rodriguez, a chef who attended the CIA, now works for John Besh at the American Sector.

Johnny Rodriguez, a chef who attended the CIA, now works for John Besh at the American Sector.

Photo: Helen L. Montoya, San Antonio Express-News

Chef shares weight-loss secrets, details

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The last three years have been a whirlwind for San Antonio native Johnny Rodriguez. Not only has he lost 142 pounds, he also changed his career path.

Rodriguez said he was in need of a life change, weighing nearly 340 pounds in 2010.

“I wasn't confident,” he said. “I'd gotten to a point in my life when I wasn't happy with myself and what I was doing.”

Now 198 pounds, Rodriguez credited his weight loss to his new job: cooking.

“I've always been interested in cooking, but was told to follow a 'true' career after high school,” he said. “I just always assumed it wasn't in the cards.”

Rodriguez, a graduate of Texas State University, received a degree in business administration and worked for companies such as Shaw Industries, SCM Management Inc. and eventually KCI Medical. He admitted that he wasn't happy with his job or his weight at the time.

Now, as the chef tournant at John Besh's American Sector in New Orleans, a position that requires helping different chefs in all parts of the kitchen, Rodriguez said he is happier and more confident.

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He said his life began to change after he discovered he had colon cancer in 2010. Rodriguez underwent both surgery and chemotherapy, which led to his full recovery.

“That's when I realized that I had been given a second chance,” he said. “I went through that ordeal and asked myself 'What am I doing?'”

In 2011, the aspiring chef enrolled at The Culinary Institute of America — San Antonio, pursuing his long-time passion for food and cooking. At night, he worked at restaurants such as La Gloria, Las Ramblas Riverwalk Restaurant at the Hotel Contessa and his own catering business, Synergy Foods, garnering experience along the way.

Rodriguez, in his late 30s at the time, said his age and work ethic caused many to doubt his ability to become a successful chef.

“People kept telling me I was too old and not right for it,” he said. “I almost quit because of it, but there comes a point in your life where you just have to stop listening to the external voices.”

He pushed on, and began an externship at The Pink Elephant, a restaurant at the Gasparilla Inn & Club in Florida. It was there, under the guidance of executive chef Rob Plesh, that Rodriguez really began to grow as a chef.